Air Berlin names Thomas Winkelmann as new CEO

FILE - In this March 25, 2015 file picture Germanwings CEO Thomas Winkelmann addresses the media in Cologne, Germany. German airline Air Berlin has announced that Thomas Winkelmann will become the new chief executive officer of the struggling carrier. The airline said Sunday Dec. 18, 2016 that Winkelmann, will succeed Air Berlin’s current CEO, Stefan Pichler, on Feb. 1. (AP Photo Frank Augstein,file)
(The Associated Press)

BERLIN – German airline Air Berlin has announced that Thomas Winkelmann will become the struggling carrier's new CEO.

The airline said in a statement Sunday that Winkelmann, who worked as CEO for Lufthansa' low-cost subsidiary Germanwings from 2006 before he was appointed to the same position at the Lufthansa hub in Munich in October 2015, will succeed Air Berlin's current CEO, Stefan Pichler, on Feb. 1.

The change in management comes at a time that Air Berlin is struggling financially. The German airline said in September that it planned to cut its 144-strong fleet nearly in half and eliminate around 1,200 jobs, while focusing on its most profitable routes.